Our Customers

Engaging with our customers

DSM actively engages with customers to develop new solutions or
practices that are profitable for all involved and address societal
challenges. DSM’s Brighter
Living Solutions are often instrumental in for identifying
opportunity areas, and developing and marketing DSM’s sustainable solutions.

Our work with customers can involve co-development, disclosure of sustainability declarations, advancing methodologies, joint research and communications.

ShoreTension?

When a 27,000 ton container ship broke free of its moorings and ruptured an oil pipeline during a storm in the Port of Rotterdam, the KRVE, the authority responsible for mooring in the Port, set up ShoreTension to explore solutions. Working as a four-way partnership, ShoreTension, suppliers of commercial ship equipment Hoenderop BV, Gleistein Ropes and DSM joined forces to deliver KRVE's ShoreTension?, a revolutionary vessel mooring system that improves operational efficiency, speed, worker safety and environmental impact.

Declarations and transparency

Making carbon footprint declarations available to customers, as well as their customers in turn, provides transparency with respect to emissions and aids in efforts by DSM’s customers to reduce carbon emissions across their own value chain. For example, DSM Engineering Plastics makes the carbon footprint of a number of main compounds available in a database that customers can access.

Combating malnutrition

DSM also engages with customers and organizations across multiple sectors to combat malnutrition and to find solutions to treat diseases. As a strategic partner in the supply of micronutrient powders and supplements, DSM not only distributes these products through its partnerships, but also through other commercial channels.

For example, the South African Department of Health distributes DSM’s Mi-Vitamin? and i-care? to its national health patients. In Asia, DSM has been developing fortified rice kernels with the look and taste of normal rice and can now bring this concept to a wider market and contribute to addressing micronutrient deficiencies with this solution.

Joint sustainability assessments

In 2015, DSM and Nestlé joined forces to measure the environmental, social and health impacts of a fortified milk product in the Asian market. The project resulted in insights and recommendations for the development of products with a better sustainability impact and for integrating sustainability into innovation and communication. Anne Roulin, Global R&D Sustainability Manager Nestlé commented "The collaboration supports a mutual cross-fertilization of ways of working in the area of sustainability and innovation, beneficial for the early identification of new opportunities as well as mitigation of areas of risk".

Reducing salt intake has been identified as an important and cost-effective measure to improve public health. In another collaboration to identify ways to improve health, Unilever and DSM recently collaborated on a modeling case study to assess the public health benefit from salt reduction in soup. The study used DSM’s 100% natural yeast extract, Maxarome?, to replace 25% of the salt content in the soup. The study demonstrated that small actions such as this can make a difference to our health.

Business to consumer marketing

Another example worth highlighting is the cooperation between DSM and Praxis, one of the largest DIY chains in the Netherlands. In October 2015, DSM and Praxis launched a new high-performance paint for which DSM provided Decovery?, a bio-based component, which has no toxic emissions. This collaboration and joint marketing effort are a new means of support DSM’s market development.